Women talking about Women Talking

The rain never let up all evening, contributing to the cozy atmosphere on Janice's porch.  We were able to enjoy another book club with nobody missing - always a happy bonus on book club evenings. Thank you to Janice for being such a gracious hostess. And here is the sun this morning.

We will meet next on Thursday, August 1st at Jo's house. No book has been assigned. We'll share with each other what we have been reading.

Following that will be a discussion of Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta. This will be at my house (Marian) on Thursday, September 5th.

We also set aside Thursday, October 3rd when we'll meet at Maureen's to talk about Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux.

Books of Note: 

• Wallander mysteries by Henning Mankell
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• Chop Suey Nation by Anna Hui
• Midnight at the Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates
• Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
• Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper
• The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
• French Exit by Patrick DeWitt
• Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
• Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore

Recommended: 

• to watch: Pure series on CBC
• to eat: Phipps baked goods 
• to eat: Mad Mexican guacamole
  

Educated

"Become educated. But do not let your education putrify into arrogance".

We met at Jane's house, inside for a change, and also for a change everyone was able to be present. That was special. As usual Jane provided everything for a pleasant evening, and as usual we asked her to share an exceptional recipe. See below. Thank you Jane!

A reminder that our next book club will be held at Janice's home on June 20th and the book will be Women Talking by Miriam Toews.  After that we won't be meeting until August 1st at Jo's, with no assigned book. It will be a chance to share what we've been reading.

FYI: There will be a  Green New Deal town hall in Etobicoke on May 25th, 2:00 pm at Islington United Church on Burnhamthorpe Road. More about the Green New Deal in Canada here.

 Books we Recommend: 

• Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 
• The Overstory  by Richard Powers
• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier
• Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig
• The Last of the Curlews by Fred Bodsworth 
• Love and Summer by William Trevor
• The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín

Don't Miss on Netflix: 

• Knock Down the House 

 Roasted Tomato and Goats' Cheese Tart with Thyme

1 lb 10 oz (725 g) ripe plum tomatoes, or any other ripe medium-sized tomato
5 oz (150 g) soft goats’ cheese
4 level teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus a few small sprigs
1 x 375 g pack fresh, ready-rolled puff pastry
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly milled black pepper

To begin the recipe, first of all unwrap the pastry and place it on the baking tray.

Then, using a sharp knife, carefully score a line on the pastry, about ½ in (1 cm) in from the edge, all the way around, but be careful not to cut it all the way through. Now tip the goats’ cheese into a small bowl, add the crushed garlic, chopped thyme and a good seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper. Then give it all a good mixing and, using a small palette or other round-bladed knife, carefully spread the cheese mixture evenly all over the surface of the pastry, right up to the line.

Next, thinly slice all the tomatoes (there is no need to peel them) and arrange them on top of the goats’ cheese in overlapping lines lengthways; overlap one line one way and the one next to it the other way. After that, season the tomatoes and then drizzle the olive oil and scatter the sprigs of thyme all over them.

Bake in the pre-heated oven on the middle shelf for 55 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown and the tomatoes are roasted and slightly charred at the edges.

If you are going to serve the tart warm, leave it to settle for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

From Delia Online

Less

We had a great evening at Saara's with yummy food and enthusiastic conversation. A big thanks to Saara for graciously hosting and for sharing her recipe for Sweet Potato and Feta Patties (see below).

There will be a General Strike against Doug Ford on Wednesday May 1st. See you there!!

Next month we will read Educated by Tara Westover. We'll be at Jane's on Wednesday, May 22nd.

We picked two other future dates.  On Thursday, June 20th we'll be at Janice's and the book will be Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

Skipping past July we'll meet again at Jo's place on Thursday, August 1st. We decided to make this a time to share with each other what we've all been reading.

Books of note: 

• Machine Without Horses by Helen Humphreys
• The Red Word by Sara Henstra
• Happiness by Aminatta Forna
• The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton
• Breath by Tim Winton 
• Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis
• First Snow Last Light by Wayne Johnston
• Our Homesick Songs by  Emma Hooper
• Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta 

In Film:

• Umbrella Academy
• Black Earth Rising
• Traitors
• Quicksand
• Special
• Derry Girls
• Amy Schumer: Growing

Sweet Potato and Feta Patties

Ingredients:

2 and ½ cups sweet potatoes peeled and grated
1 cup feta cheese crumbled
5 eggs lightly beaten
½ cup flour
2 green onions finely chopped
¼ cup cilantro extremely finely chopped ( I used more)
½ tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In large bowl combine all ingredients
3. Lightly season with salt and pepper ( I did not)
4. In large non-stick frying pan with some vegetable oil cook a few patties at a time
flattening them as they cook. Brown on both sides…it takes a few minutes only.
5. Bake on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper for 10 minutes.
Serve with tzatziki

March and the lonely hearts hotel

"All children are really orphans. At heart, a child has nothing to do with its parents, its background, its last name, its gender, its family trade. It is a brand-new person, and it is born with the only legacy that each individual inherits when they open their eyes in this world: the inalienable right to be free."

Heather O'Neill has an exceptional sensibility and voice. Her book provoked some lively conversation. Thank you to Wanda for hosting. It was such a pleasant evening.

To learn more about the history of Montreal, Maureen recommended reading a book by William Weintraub. I think the title is City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the 1940s and '50s.

We are heading to Saara's next month to talk about Less by Andrew Sean Greer. The date is April 25th which is another Thursday.  In the video below Andrew Sean Greer talks about his book.

Books that we mentioned:  

• Best Canadian Stories of 2018 compiled by Russell Smith 
• Someone is Recording by Lynn Coady
• The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
• Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
• An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld 

 And in film: 

• Bohemian Rhapsody 
• The Vietnam War (series on Netflix)
• Yesterday  

Podcasts: 

• Radiolab
• In the no
• Apologetical
• Revisionist History
• CBC Sunday Edition
• Ideas 

The Reason You're Alive

"I think that many Vietnam vets believed that no matter what they did, they would never have any control over their lives. Powerful, faceless men would always pull the strings, so why should the powerless non-string-pullers give a fuck? Playing the puppet while high became easier than cleaning up enough to cut strings and kill puppet masters."

This book was a hard look into the minds of the angry old men whose voices have become so loud in recent years.  It gave us plenty to talk about.  Thank you to Susan for being a gracious hostess as always. It was a perfect evening.

Our next book is The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill.  We'll meet at Wanda's (note that this is a change, as is the location for April's meeting) on March 21st for this.

We chose a new book for April 25th at Saara's (instead of Wanda's) - Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Books We Mentioned

• Orphan #8 by Kim Van Alkamade
• Educated by Tara Westover
• Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
  
• Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

And on Video: 

• Rake
• Bordertown
• Black Earth Rising
• Trapped
• Cardinal
• Russian Dolls
• The Good Doctor
• Doc Martin
• Grace and Frankie
• Schitt's Creek
• Kim's Convenience
• Street Legal
• Sex Education
• Derry Girls
• Life in Pieces
• A Private War

Distance posting

It was disappointing to miss book club again this month, which is the reason why this post lacks substance. Thank you to Jane for sending me an update. It sounds as if you all had a good time at Maureen's though.

Yes, Brother was about a sad topic. Personally I found I've Been Meaning to Tell You very touching too.

We will meet at Mai Bistro on January 10th at 6:45 pm.

In February we have arranged to meet at Susan's on the 20th to talk about The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick.

We will be at Saara's on March 21st and the book will be The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill.

October meeting at Wanda's home

Thank you to Wanda for a lovely get-together.

Saara, Jan and Marian were not able to be there. The rest of us enjoyed discussing Ann Patchett's book Commonwealth, which is, perhaps, semi-autobiographical. There was much conversation, including comparison between Ann Patchett and Ann Tyler.

We talked about Heart Berries by Therese Marie Mailhot, a memoir about a First Nations woman.
 Also movies were mentioned, The First Man, with Ryan Gosling, about the moon landing,   The Wife, with Glenn Close, who has been nominated for an Oscar, and The Sisters Brothers, the book we read.

Next month's meeting will be at Maureen's home, we will be talking about two books by David Chariandy:  Brother, and I've Been Meaning To Tell You.

In January, we will get together for our annual dinner at Mai bistro. Then in February we will meet at Jane's house, both dates to be finalised at December's meeting.